It began with John Edwin Cook at Grand Canyon, who passed on his passion to his son, John Oliver Cook, who grew up to work for the National Park Service at the Canyon and then went on to become a superintendent at several other parks.

John Oliver's son, John E. Cook, carried on the family tradition, joining the park service the day he graduated from high school. In 1966, he was appointed superintendent at Canyon de Chelly National Monument and worked for a number of years as superintendent at parks around the Navajo Nation. In 1972, he was recognized by the Navajo tribe with the Outstanding Service to the Navajo People Award. At age 37, he became associate director of the NPS and was the guiding force behind numerous NPS programs, including the 1976 bicentennial celebration.

One of his greatest achievements was the challenge of handling the politics of the 47-million-acre expansion of the national park system with the passage of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act in 1978. Later, he served as superintendent of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. In 1994, Cook received the Pugsley Award "in recognition of his over 30 years in significant leadership roles in the National Park Service."

His daughter, Kayci Cook Collins, followed in his footsteps and is the superintendent of El Malpais and El Morro National Monuments in New Mexico. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Alaska Regional Director's first annual Summit Award, a regional Appleman-Judd Award for Cultural Resources Stewardship, a regional Tilden Freeman Award for Interpretation, and a Crystal Owl Award for Employee Development.